John Boehner announced that Republicans will pick their nominee on October 28. (AFP)
US congressman Paul Ryan and hardline Republicans signaled on Wednesday that he is closer to taking the role of speaker of the House after the majority of a conservative faction offered their support.
The House of Representatives will choose its new speaker next week, according to outgoing speaker John Boehner - who resigned under pressure from the rebellious conservatives.
Ryan, who had been hesitant to take the job, said he would only do so if the deeply divided Republican caucus would unify around him.
On Wednesday he earned the support of many -- but not all -- in the House Freedom Caucus.
But he said after a high-stakes meeting with the group that despite their lack of official endorsement, he was moving forward with his effort to win the speaker's gavel.
"I'm grateful for the support of a supermajority of the House Freedom Caucus," Ryan said in a statement.
"I look forward to hearing from the other two caucuses by the end of the week, but I believe this is a positive step toward a unified Republican team."
The Freedom Caucus met behind closed doors Wednesday evening, with about two-thirds of members saying they would back Ryan, Politico reported.
The group's rules require an 80 percent threshold to trigger a formal endorsement.
"We tried to reach a consensus but we were not able to reach the 80 per cent threshold," Politico quoted caucus board member Raul Labrador as saying.
"There is some consensus that it's time for us to move forward," he added. "We're trying to move forward in a positive way. It's an offer of support."
The group later confirmed that a "supermajority" backs Ryan.
"Paul is a policy entrepreneur who has developed conservative reforms dealing with a wide variety of subjects, and he has promised to be an ideas-focused speaker who will advance limited government principles and devolve power to the membership," the caucus said in a statement.
"While no consensus exists among members of the House Freedom Caucus regarding Chairman Ryan's preconditions for serving, we believe that these issues can be resolved within our Conference in due time."
Ryan has said he wants to change a rule that allows any member to demand a vote to oust a sitting speaker of the House, and staunchly defended his need for "family time," as he and his wife are raising three young children.
Ryan, a Wisconsin native, was the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee. He chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, where he presides over tax policy.
Claiming the speaker's gavel would place him second in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president.
Boehner announced that Republicans will pick their nominee October 28, with the full House voting the following day. He aims to step down October 30.
House leadership was plunged into chaos two weeks ago when conservatives helped force number two Republican Kevin McCarthy out of the race to replace Boehner.